Concrete pile construction



c. s. HOWELL.

CONCRETE PILE CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. I, 1915- Patented Sept. 7, 1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET l.

351 I attozwzlg 0. S. HOWELL. CONCRETE PILE CONSTRUCTION. APPLICATION FILED S'EPT- I, I915- ,3 2, 1 28. Patented p 7, 1920.

$51 3 Gum met because injurious compression blows are not ASSIGNOR, BY ivinsnn ASSIGNMENTS, or

CLARENCE S. HOWELL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.,

ONE-HALF 'ro LAWRENCE MQG'UIRE, or NEW YORK, 1v. Y.

oouonn'sn PILE CONSTRUCTION.

Application filed'September 1, 1915. 7 Serial No. 48,533.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CLARnNoE S. HOWELL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Imrovements in Concrete Pile Construction, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a concrete pile and a form for driving it. The device is intended to make possible the adoption of a new method of concrete pile construction and the method will be more or less referred to in the description of the'device, but the method will not be claimed herein as it forms the subject matter of my copen ding application filed concurrently herewith and serially numbered 48,532.

My invention relates to the construction of concrete piles and their driving means. Heretofore, two general methods for pile construction have'been in use,-viz': that by which concrete is cast in the shape ofa pile in a form temporarily driven to the required depth in the ground, and that by which a pile is cast above ground and seasoned and then driven to the required depth by one of several methods of driving. My invention relates to the latter class. 'Each of the prior methods of driving have certain inherent disadvantages which'are eliminated by the present invention. With the present invention a pile can be driven without defeet and to great depths without fracture applied to the pile. Other advantages of the present invention are: The concrete pile is made to occupy the displacement of the driving point as penetration proceeds by stresses applied through reinforcing bars rigidly anchored to the point.

The pile may be, of any cross-sectional shape and the advantages herein set forth may nevertheless be attained. The pile is driven by means of a 'metal drivingforrn of a plurality of sections or parts, preferably of channel shape, which do not entirely inclose the'pile, so th at'there is some earth friction upon the pile. This partial earth friction on the pile develops a resistance to penetration which resistance is overcome by the reinforcing rods on which tensile stresses act. These stresses are distributed throughout the pile instead of acting only at the point.

Another advantage of the partial earth addition thereto. there maybe friction on the pile is that thejpileis not moved upwardly from any given position of penetration by the upwardpull of the driving forms during driving, nor is the p e displaced by the withdrawal 'of the driving form. I

i By making the driving form in sections there 'is less earth friction when the parts are withdrawn separately,- and the pile may be placed bet-ween the driving form.mern- "bers easily preparatory to driving: Since the earth friction: upon the withdrawal of. the form.members' is less than itwould be if a single form member inclosing thewhole ,pile'were used, a pile may be driven deeper I Specification of Letters Patent. Patented g, 1920. I

and still the form may be readily withdrawn thereafter;

The stressonthe reinforcing rods maybe so proportioned .as not to, exceed'their elastic limit. r

Cushioning devices on the driving head are not required. to protect the pile from fracture by. the 1 driving force sothat the full force of'the drivermay be used for rapid penetration.

: In the drawings forming part of 'this ap-' plication,':" I Figure 1 is an elevation of the pile and driving form: in positionfb'etween the leads of appile driver,ready to .be driven,

Fig.2:isa vertical sectional view of the pile. point,- the concrete being" omitted to show. more clearly the other parts,

Fig. dis a vertical sectional 'view' ofthe pointed end of the pile after the pile'has been driven and the "driving form has been removed, in which view, part of the concrete, a. that on one-half, has beenomitted to better show the construction, j

Fig. 4L is a sectional view'taken on the line 4- 4 of Fig. 3, with the sameomission of concrete, 7 1

Fig. 5' is a horizontal I sectional view 13 the line 5-.-5 of Fig; 6, V

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view ofthe driving'head and'it is taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5. In this view the'wooden'strik'ing block is omitted. p The pile itself comprises a body oficoncrete of any desired-shape in cross section and of any length required, together with a driving point of cast or wrought iron. In

metallic reinforcings ofv any character. In the drawthroiwh the driving head and it is'taken on i I I 100 of cross'webs 8, 9. of X formation.

'ings I have shown deformed bars reinforc crete 2 of any required length, and in the drawings this column is shown as rectangu- -lar infcross section although, as stated, this shape is not imperative.

a The driving point 3 comprlses a shell portion 4: inclosing the lower end of the concrete, and from thisextends aflange 5. The

lower portion of the member 3 is of pyramidalfishape at 6, forming a point 7 for piercing the earth through which the pile is driven. The interior of the driving point is more or less hollow before the pile is cast, so that the concrete'enters the point and forms a homogeneous body of the pile and point. The point isdivided by means webs make the driving point very stron so that it will stand the extreme pressures and they also form a convenient means for anchoring'the reinforcing rods where such are use. s

The webs 8, 9 each have an aperture 10 and for each web, there is a deformed reinforcing rod 11 having itslower end passed through the aperture 10 of the web and bent back upon-the rod, where it is fastened by a winding 12 of wire. These rods may extend upward to the top of the pile and they servev in' well known manner to crete. v

- In addition to serving as reinforcements to the pile, these rods serve to transmit part ofthe' driving force to the concrete of the pile. As the driving force is applied to the driving point through the driving form and as these rods are anchored to the driving point tensile stresses are exerted through the rods and these stresses are transmitted through the rods to all parts of the concrete to overcome the resistance caused by the partial earth friction on the pile. The rods 11 may be held apart byspacing wires 13. wound around them at suitable in tervals for the purpose of holding the rods inposition while the pile is being cast.

The pile as described above, is cast in a suitable. casting form above ground, sothat the pile consists of. a homogeneous body of concrete and .a driving point. After the pile has been cast or poured of wet concrete in the casting form it may be allowed to stand for any desired length of time before it is driven in order. that it may be thoroughly seasoned. The seasoning will, of course, improve the quality of the pile and avoid the development of subsequent weale mass from subterranean moisture.

The driving form comprises, primarily,

reinforce the con longitudinal members arranged lengthwise of the pile and adapted to transmit the driv- These .ing force to the driving point but not through the pile itself. That is, the shock of the driving is received by the driving form, so that the pile is relieved of at least the direct blow and is thus prevented from being fractured during driving.

ihese longitudinal members are here shown as of angle or channel metal of comalso serve to space the members 1 1-, from the concrete so that there will be little or no friction between these form bars and the pile when the bars are withdrawn;

.I also prefer toprovide plates 19 on the outside of the webs 18. The purpose of these plates is to strengthen the form members 14, 15.

' Iliave shownthe members 1.4;, .15 each .made of-a single piece of channel steel but it is to be understood that they may be built up ofseveral pieces secured together.

The channel bars 1 1, 15 and theplates 17, 19 may and preferably do, all rest upon the flange 5., m

Inaddition to the above I have shown side plates 21 riveted tot-he webs 16 of the channel bars. u r 'On opposite'sides of the driving. point there are pairs. of converging grooves 22.

On the olatesz21 there are nro'ections23 1 L. i l which slide in these. grooves. When the pile is assembled in the driving form preparatory to driving, these pro ections 23 the'pile and with the enter the grooves 22 and asthe'y travel down the converging grooves the channel bars and associated parts are drawn closely against the driving point-member. On the other hand, when the form is withdrawn after the pile has been driven this, connection causes the lower end of the .form members to separate andthus free themselves from the pile. The construction of the head of the driving form is shown in Figs. 1, 5 and 6. It consists of a block 2 1 having a socket 25 at the top to receive awooden impact block, The bolclr is within a frame consisting of the sideplates 26 and channel bars 27, the

' guides 28 of the latter straddling the leads 29 of the pile driver and acting to guide the pile; There are prefe ably provided plates 30 lying outside the plates 19 and these and the bars 14-, 15 are all. bolted to the head block 2 1 by means of bolts 31. The head block is bolted to of the bolts32.

the members26by means .to be placed between them.

tion forv driving. The pile driver acts 11 'there is a pair of links comprising a link 3? having its upper end fulcrumed to one of the rods and a link 38hav1ng its upper end fulcruined to the other rod 33. The lower ends of these links are connected by a pin which has aney'e 4E0 to-receive a hook on the tackle (not shown) of the pile driver.

As long as the bolts 32 and 31 are in'place as shown inFigs. 5 and 6 the head construction is tightly held together and the force of the blows of the driver on thehead'is transmitted through the driving form. 'lVhen it is desired to place a pile in the form the bolts 31, 32 are removed and the tackle is connected with the eyes 40. Upon the tackle being drawn upwardly the links 37, 38 will be caused to spread and the rods 33 will travel out of the recesses 11 in the head block and they will travel along the slots 3% in the members 26.-

- Since these rods are connected with the channel bars 14, 15 the latter will be separated at the top sufficiently to allow a pile It will be understood that the bolts 31, 32 are to beremoved and the block 2 1 lifted off to permit the pile to enter the frame. After the pile has been placed in the driving form the block 2% is replaced, the links are forced down to draw the form close against the block 2 1- and the bolts 81, 32 are replaced.

Fig. 1 shows the pile and form in p the head of the driving form and the farce is transmitted through the channel bars 14L, 15 and reinforcing plates 19 tothe driving point 3, so that the downward force is not applied directly to the concrete pile and it cannot,ytherefore, cause a fracture in the pile. The form may be driven through any material through which any pile can be driven.

There is more or less of a rebounding acthis respect it is to be noted that two sides of the pile are in contact with the earth. T 0 further prevent this rebounding action from injuriously straining the pile-I'have provided a block 12 which is secured between the form members by means of bolts This block rests against the head of the pile so that any upward thrust is transmitted to the driving form and the'p'ile is prevented from umping in the form, from separatingfromthe drivingpoint, or from otherwise being injured It will be underwithdrawn by suitable tackle.

stood that this block will be positioned on the form at the proper'height to correspond,

with the position of the head of the pile.

The use of'the device has been more or less set, forth in the foregoing description. After the pile has been placed in the form and both-havebeen driven to the desired depth the block 2 1 is removed. The form is then commencement'of the upward movement of the form thepro'jections 23 will be guided by the grooves 22in such-manner that the form will be spread sufiiciently to disengage it from the driving point. As the channel bars 14, 15 were held separated from the pileduring driving by the plates 17 there will be comparatively little resistance to the upward movement of the form. Since the form does not entirely surround the pile thelatter will be held by earth friction and pressure from being drawn upwardly with the form when it is withdrawn. This insures thepile' remaining at the lowest depth to which it had been driven, which is an importantfeature.

' is to be'understood that'the driving point remains in the ground as a perma .nentpartiof the pile. 7

The-form is used over and over, so that the only metal which has to be supplied is that used for reinforcing (when reinforcement is employed) and the driving 3 point.

In drivingvery deep-it may be desirable to withdraw the forminjsections. In that :event the headis taken apart, the block 24;

is removed and the channel bars 14, 15 are .removed separately.

'Idaving described my invention, what I .claim'isz 1. A device of the class described compris' ing member embedded in the pile and ex- Upon the .ing a solid, precast concrete pile, a reinforctending substantially throughout the length thereof, a driving point to which said reinforcing member is permanently-and securely anchored, and an exterior driving form adapted .to receive the entire driving force and totransmit-driving force to said driving point whereby the headof thepile is not subjected to any part of the concussion ofzthe driving force and whereby the enltire concrete portion of the pile is pulled into the ground by the said driving point. 2. Af device. of the-class described comprisinga solid,precast, concrete pile, a reinforcing member embedded in the pile and extending substantially throughout the lengththereof, a driving point to which said reinforcing -member is permanently and rigidly anchored, said driving pointbeing of suchsizeas to extend beyond the peripheral surface of the pile, an eXterior driving form resting on the extended portion of said driving point, the driving point being adapted to-receive the driving force whereby the entire concrete-portionof the pile is pulled into the ground as an integral part of said driving point;

3. A device of, the class described comprising a, solid, precast, monolithic concrete pile, a reinforcing member embedded in the pile and extending substantially throughout the length thereof, a driving point tojjwhich said reinforcing member is permanently and rigidly anchored, and an exterior driving form disposed lengthwise of the pile and adapted to transmit driving force to said driving point, the driving force applied to said driving point being exerted substantially over'the entire transverse cross section' of the pile for substantially ,its full length by said reinforcing member to pull the solid pile into-the ground" as an integral part ofsaid driving point.

4. A device ofcthe class described comprising a solid, precast, concrete, pile, metal reinforcing members embedded in the pile and extending substantially throughout the length thereof, a driving point to which said reinforcing members are permanently and securely anchored, anda driving form disposed lengthwise of and exterior of the pile and adapted to'transmit driving force to: a part of said driving point outside the peripheral surface of'the pile, said driving form comprising separate members extending, substantially the length of the pile and partly inclosing the outer peripheral surface -of the pile whereby a portion of the earth friction which would otherwise be exerted upon the pile is causedto act upon the driving form, the driving, force applied to said driving point being exerted, substantially throughout the solid transverse cross :section of the pile for substantially its full length to pull the entire concrete portion of the pile into the ground as an integral part of said driving point. a 5. A device. of the class described comprising a solid, precast monolithic concrete ile, metal reinforcingmembers embedded inthe pile and extending substantially throughout the length thereof, a driving point to which said re nforcing members are permanently and rigidly anchored, and an exterior driving form disposed lengthwise of the pile and adapted to transmit driving force to said driving point, and comprising-members adapted to be withdrawn separately after the pile has been driven, the driving force applied to'said driving point being exerted substantially throughout the solid transverse crosssectionof the pile for substan tiallyits entire length by said reinforcing members to pull the entire solid concrete portion of the pileinto the ground as an integral part of said driving point.

6. A devicev of the'class described, com prising asolid, precast monolithic concrete pile, metal reinforcing members embedded tially throughout every part of the solid concrete portion of the pile by the reinforcing members to pull the complete pile into the ground without concussion upon the head of the pile from the driving force.

7 A device of the class described comprisinga concrete pile, a driving point therefor, and a driving form composed of a plurality of longitudinally disposed metal members partially inclosing the pile whereby a portion of the earth friction which would otherwise be exerted upon the pile is caused to act upon the driving form, and means for detachably securing said form to said driving point, spacing members between.

said driving form and point whereby a substantial portion of the surface of'said form is spaced from said pile to reduce the area of contact, between the pile and driving form. t

8. A device of the class described comprising a concrete pile, a driving point therefor, and a driving form arranged lengthwise of the pile and comprising separable members adapted to transmit the driving force to said driving point, and means for drawing said form members toward the driving point and adapted to release said members therefrom upon upward movement of the form members. I V

9. A device of the class described, comprising a concrete pile, a driving point therefor having a shoulder and converging grooves, and a driving form "COmPIISIIIg' members arranged lengthwise of the pile andadapted torest on said shoulder and projections engaging said grooves whereby V the form members will bedrawn toward said driving point. n v f I 10. A device of the class described, com

prising a concrete pile, a driving point therefor, and a driving form -compr1s1ng channel barsarranged to partially surround said pile and to transmit the driving force to' said driving point, means, for drawing said channel bars toward said driving point and spacing members between the channel bars and driving point.

11. A device of the class described, com

prising a concrete pile, a driving point therefor,- and a driving form comprising channel bars arranged to partially surround said pile, and to transmitdriving force to the driving point and an abutment memben connected between said channel bars and arranged 'to form an abutment against which the top of the pile may engage and adapted to prevent upward thrust of the pile relatively to the driving form.

12. A driving form for piles, comprising bars adapted to receive a pile between them, a frame movable between the leads of a pile driver, means engaging said bars and slidable laterally on said frame, for separating said bars.

passing through 13. A driving form for piles, comprising bars adapted to receive a pile'between them, a frame slidable between the leads of a pile driver and provided with slots, a removable said slots and convergingglinks connected with said bolts for spreading said bars.

Signed at the city, county and State of New York, this 25th day of August, 1915.

CLARENCE s. HOWELL.

head block between said bars, bolts 7 said bars and engaging in, 

